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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a quick move which has blunted the edge of the Opposition’s criticism, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has secured the resignation of Culture and Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian from his Cabinet.

‘Why do we obey rules?’ asks The New Yorker and then stretches the answer till one of the rules is about how everybody has the right to let go of the rules too strenuous to live by. And, from what is happening in our own country at, we can assume that we are living in dangerous times, largely because there is an absence of rule of law.

The Ukraine war entered its 134th day on July 7 giving no signs of ending. In the initial days, there were some efforts for active negotiations but since then, it has been converted into an open confrontation between Russia and Ukraine backed by the USA and NATO. Sanctions against Russia by the western nations have failed to make any deep adverse impact on the Russian economy though the high energy prices have wrecked the western economies.

Supreme Court’s judgment in Zakia Jafri versus State of Gujarat came under critical scrutiny by many former civil servants who form the well-known civil society group, Constitutional Conduct Group (‘CCG’) on Tuesday.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global tourism industry left not only tourism companies but also the tourism-driven economy in dire straits. Shutdowns and travel restrictions led to the disappearance of international travel. For example, China opened international flights after nearly two years on July 5, with India still not on the list of countries allowed to operate flights to the neighbouring country.

Indubitably, Pakistan is nowadays passing through one of the most turbulent periods in its recent history. On the surface, it is a serious political turmoil. But, intrinsically, it is an amalgamation of financial and political tribulations which are dragging the country into the slough of uncertainty. The whole saga started in mid-March this year, when the Opposition submitted the no-confidence motion against former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly. Since then, the political arena of Pakistan has been witnessing many swirling ups and downs on daily basis for all the players, but there is only person who is finding himself being continuously whirled into the quagmire of despondency and anguish, without any hope of respite in the near future. This is none other than Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha was a ardent follower of Jayaprakash Narayan and handled several ministries at the Central level. He made a mark as Finance Minister as he occupied the sprawling office in the North Block. When Sinha reached the Finance Ministry in November, 1991 to assume charge after having been inducted into Chandra Shekhar government, there was not a single newspaper cameraman to receive him but he was mobbed by electronic media.

The emergence of organised collection centres for scrap gold is introducing a new trend in the recycling of gold in the country. The new trend is spearheaded by major players such as MMTC-PAMP and Muthoot, which are setting up collection centres across the country.

The last time the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) piled on the heat on the Modi government was ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, promising to relegate the BJP to second or even third place. That did not happen. Other factors set the trend for the poll outcome despite the vestiges of the farmers’ agitation blighting the vitiated political environment.

US congress accepting a resolution commemorating the life of the rights defender and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, on his first death anniversary and seeking an independent investigation into his death has been a matter of disgrace for the Modi government which only a week back had signed a resolution along with other G 7 members to protect human rights.